Congress Seeking Compromise, Feels Bjp

The BJP yesterday came to the conclusion that the Congress and the United Front would reach some understanding, after the negotiators of the two parties sat together to hammer out differences and find a solution to the present impasse.

The composition of the Congress negotiating team reflected that the party sought compromise rather than a showdown, a BJP-office bearer said. According to the BJPs understanding, the two parties were trying to work out a compromise by which the Congress would support Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda during the confidence vote on April 11, after whcih Gowda would step down, the BJP leader said.

Senior BJP leaders met twice at former Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayees residence to assess the political developments. The leaders of its allies were also present at one of these meetings.

They discussed the combines floor strategy in the Lok Sabha on April 11. The BJPs parliamentary party is sceduled to meet today to take a decision. However, it is unlikely that the party would take a decision, which is contingent on the developments in the Congress and the UF camps. The parliamentary party is likely to authorise Vajpayee to take a decision in this regard.

The meeting today would also make the whip more clear, party vice-president KL Sharma said, admitting that the whip issued earlier was not a whip in the strict sense of the term.

On the possibility of Gowda surviving the confidence vote, Sharma said he had ony two options either resign or get voted out. The situation is fliud and anything can happen, he added.

Senior BJP assured the leaders of the partys allies that the BJP would not take any decision that would harm their interests. Vajpayee is reported to have told them that he was also not interested in a mid-term Lok Sabha poll.

If the Congress and the UF joined hands once again, the only option open to the BJP would be to vote against the governments confidence motion in case it came up, a BJP leader said.